Ms. Mentor’s Impeccable
Advice for Women in Academia,

by Emily Toth
Book Review by Ann Wehrle

January 2002

Ann Wehrle is a staff scientist at the Interferometry Science Center (JPL and Caltech) where she does
strategic planning for science for the Space Interferometry Mission. She leads the SIM Key Project
“Binary Black Holes, Accretion Disks, and Relativistic Jets: Photocenters of
Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei and Quasars.”

THIS BOOK IS FUNNY, thought-provoking,
practical, and wise in the ways of the
academic world. Most women who have
borrowed my copy read it through in a single
gleeful sitting. Professor Emily Toth, disguised
as “Ms. Mentor,” writes an advice
column (available on-line at The Chronicle for
Higher Education’s website,
http://www.chronicle.
com). The format is questionand-
answer, drawn from six years
of enquiries, and backed up with
twenty-five years of experience in
academia. Topics include graduate
school, job hunting, conferences,
first year of teaching, the struggle
for tenure, and post-tenure, among
others. Examples include how to
negotiate startup funding, how to
find out what to ask for, and
getting agreements in writing
from the Dean or department
chair. Graduate students often eagerly
anticipate giving their first paper at a conference,
but are baffled by how few senior people
attend the oral sessions. Ms. Mentor clues
them in, “... the major purpose of academic
conferences is to network, gossip and conspire
with one’s peers.” She solves academic dilemmas,
such as how and why a panel chair must alert
speakers near the end of their allotted times and
when to cut them off. The hilarious conference
scene illustrating “peacocking” will be recognizable
to many astronomers.

A perennial issue raised in women’s job
books is how to dress professionally. Ms.
Mentor recommends elegant rather than earthy
or ethnic, and excoriates miniskirts, gray banker
suits, and “little-girl dresses.” “Dress like the
highest ranking female member of your institution”
(not your department!) is her pragmatic advice.
And then there’s handling the illegal questions
asked by job interviewers – are you married and
do you have children? Advice: the interviewers
hold all the winning cards; if you do want the
job, answer the questions calmly.

Why buy this book? As a grad
student, to learn what really goes
on in the academic world. As a
job-hunter, to read her pithy
advice on presenting yourself
and negotiating a good deal. As
a tenure track faculty member,
to figure out where to put your
energy (hint: do not serve on
seven committees simultaneously).
As a professor, to learn Machiavellian techniques such as
orchestrating a meeting. Ms.
Mentor reminds us that men learn
how to self-promote, compete and
win as part of their socialization as boys. The
question-and-answer format allows Ms. Mentor
to show by example how women can learn
the game and play to win.